Pigs are the ideal genetic mixing vessel to generate a human pandemic influenza strain, because they have receptors in their respiratory tracts which both avian and human flu viruses can bind to.
...finding bird flu in a pig raises worries that the virus may be hitting a stepping stone to becoming a bigger threat to people, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University pandemic researcher.
New research into the ongoing bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms describes in unprecedented detail how efficiently the virus has spread among cows, and from cows to other mammals, including cats and a raccoon.
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